China National "12th Five-Year Plan" for Environmental Protection

 In the pursuit of a more environmentally friendly economy, the Chinese government laid out a blueprint on pollution reduction goals between 2011 and 2015. Experts believe the new plan will shift the future investment focus in China from infrastructure development to “green” projects. The “National 12th Five-year Plan on Environmental Protection,” released by the State Council on December 15, complimented China’s achievement in pollution control over the past five years and set new goals for the future.

The Plan states that China is seeking around RMB3.4 trillion of investments to protect its environment within the next five years, with around RMB1.5 trillion of which will be first injected into eight types of “green projects,” including:

• Major pollutants reduction, such as sewage treatment, sludge treatment, desulfurization and denitrification
• Living environment improvement, such as water/air/soil quality improvement
• Environmental protection in rural areas, such as nonpoint source pollution control from agriculture
• Ecological preservation, such nature reserve development and biodiversity conservation
• Environment risk prevention, such as prevention and control of heavy metal/hazardous chemicals pollution and persistent organic pollutants
• Nuclear safety, such as nuclear safety systems/technology development and radiation monitoring
• Environmental infrastructure, such as waste treatment facilities development and projects on water supply security
• Environmental monitoring, such as environmental monitoring capability development and talent training